Important headlines for January 31st
Bottom Line: These are stories you don't want to miss and my hot takes on them...
What I'm Listening For In Trump's Speech Sen. Chuck Schumer, Washington Post
Excerpt: When President Trump addresses the nation in his first official State of the Union on Tuesday night, he should urge Congress to deliver a substantial investment in our nation’s infrastructure. On this issue, Democrats agree with the president: America’s physical infrastructure is the backbone of our economy, and we have fallen behind. If we do not quickly repair and modernize our infrastructure, we risk ceding the next century of global economic leadership to China or India.
Hot Take: Well, we got so will this usher in a bit of bipartisanship? After the President offered up a DACA solution that's everything Democrats could have wanted (granted in exchange for border enforcement and wall funding), we've not exactly seen signs of bipartisan action. The dynamics of this year just might help however. What do I mean? Why?
Generally, an election cycle is an obstacle to action in Washington. This year might be a bit different. Take for example the partial government shutdown. Chuck Schumer made the political calculation that a shutdown would be beneficial for Democrats. Polling quickly showed the opposite was true as Democrats lost about 3.5% support in three days nationally. So you could hold the keys to whether there's meaningful action on infrastructure, DACA/Wall funding and whatever else may come to pass and while that's always true at the voting booth - it could come in the form of the polls well before November.
Media Is Missing Something Huge Happening at FBI Mollie Hemingway, Special Report
Hot Take: Yes, like the the fact that based on what we already know it's been corrupted for political purposes. The coverage of the FBI developments seems to have generally missed a few of those minor points.
Until tomorrow...